Selection of Norman specialties to eat and drink
The 4 Norman cheeses
You cannot be in Normandy and not taste our delicious cheeses !
The 4 Norman cheeses labeled PDO (‘AOC’ in French) which is a quality label are also villages :
– Camembert
– Livarot
– Pont-l’évêque
– Neufchâtel
In France, cheese is usually served between the main course and the dessert.
WHERE CAN YOU BUY AND TASTE GOOD CHEESES IN BAYEUX ?
You can buy very good cheeses (Norman ones and many others) at :
La Fromagerie de Bayeux cheese shop
– 6 rue Alain Chartier, Bayeux (in the city center).
L’Etabli Fromagerie : a cheese shop and a cheese bar
– 57 rue Saint-Jean, Bayeux (in the city center, not far from the Office of Tourism).
Boards of cheeses (Norman cheeses but not only) and cold cuts with wine/cider or beer (Baya beer from Bayeux) to eat on the spot !
THE PAYS D’AUGE is also full of local cheese makers and is anyway the cheese region with the villages of Livarot and Pont-L’Evêque… and you can even visit a dairy cheese which is quite unique since the cheese-making workshops are rarely open to the public.
All details in my section Pays d’Auge.
Apples and Norman tart
There are hundreds of varieties of apple trees in Normandy : they appreciate the oceanic climate of the region with a sun that warms without burning and a rain that waters without drowning.
Not all apples taste the same. There are so-called “knife” apples and “cider” apples ( not good to be eaten). The « cider » ones are smaller and have a bitter flavor, characteristic of a concentration of tannin.
Eaten for dessert or for a snack in the afternoon, many Norman sweet specialties are made from apples like the Norman tart.
The Norman tart is a shortcrust pastry-based (pâte brisée) filled with apples, sliced almonds and sugar, topped with creamy egg custard and baked until the topping is slightly caramelised. It is known in French as la Tarte Normande. DELICIOUS !!
In Bayeux, you can buy a delicious Norman apple tart at the bakery-pastry Au Moulin Doré, 7 rue Alain Chartier : it’s a real delight !
The Teurgoule
This is a revisited rice pudding made with rice, whole milk (very important), sugar and cinnamon. The teurgoule is baked gently in a huge enamelled sandstone terrine for more than 6 hours.
It’s a very creamy dessert traditionally served with a Norman brioche, la fallue.
It all started with the Norman sailors of the 17th century who left to look for food in India. They returned to Honfleur with cinnamon and rice. Their wives cooked the rice in very little milk which gave a thick and creamy result .
Over time, this dish has become a delicious dessert that means in the Norman dialect “twisting your face” (Teurgoule) and recalls the torture endured by gourmets who had not had the patience to wait the end of the 6 hours of cooking !
You can buy Teurgoule in many supermarkets, the Teurgoule of Janville is a famous and good brand.
On traditional markets as well, you will find local producers who sell their homemade teurgoule.
RECIPE OF THE NORMAN TEURGOULE
*
Ingredients
2 liters of whole or raw milk
135 g round rice
180 g caster sugar
2 level teaspoons of cinnamon
pinch of salt.
*
Preparation
Preheat the oven (thermostat 5).
Mix the rice with the cinnamon and the sugar in a clay pot.
Pour in the cold milk, stirring well.
Put in the oven for 1 hour, at thermostat 5, then continue cooking for 5 hours, at thermostat 3.
The teurgoule is cooked when the crust is golden and the preparation is no longer liquid.
**
Cider, Calvados and Pommeau
Again, you cannot be in Normandy and not taste cider, calvados or pommeau, the traditional drinks of the region made from apples.
CIDER
The apples used to make cider are not eating apples. They are blended in proportions kept secret by their producers, and from them a pure apple juice is produced, the first step. Cider is a living liquid, it matures, it clouds, it clears. The sugars in the pure juice will transform into alcohol, producing a drink easy on the palette and direct in taste, each a little different according to the criteria of the cider farm from which it comes. Cider is a drink between 3° and 5°of alcohol by the fermentation of its sugars. Its strong characteristics are the result of being a totally natural product.
Cider is very refreshing in summer especially when it is hot !
CALVADOS
Calvados, the apple brandy, improves with age, in contrast to cider. This eau-de-vie is still made along traditional lines. The cider destined for calvados won’t be bottled but left in cask to allow the sediment to settle within. After a year or two it is ready to be distilled according to the process used in the creation of any great eau-de-vie. There are two stages in this distillation. In the first distillation the unadulterated alcohol is extracted and then passed through a second distillation process in order to obtain the calvados, giving it depth and flavour. The calvados is stored in oak casks where it picks up the tannins in the wood and ages gracefully. Its age in cask is important as it affects the sophistication of the taste and some family businesses store casks of calvados that is over 50 years old (once bottled it ceases to age, unlike wine).
What is the « Trou Normand » (= the Norman hole)…?
Traditionally, Normans enjoy a shot of calvados poured over a scoop of apple sorbet, known as the « trou normand » (= Norman hole) between some courses, a way to help digest when eating a very rich meal with many dishes.
POMMEAU
Pommeau is a Norman aperitif made of apple juice and calvados. It also ages in oak casks and takes on a lovely amber colour. It is best served chilled.
WHEN AND HOW TO TASTE CALVADOS, CIDER OR POMMEAU ?
You will find some very good advice from Domaine Dupont, a local family producer located on the Cider Route in the Pays d’Auge + links to recipes :
https://www.calvados-dupont.com/en/tasting-calvados.htm
➔ Find all the details about the « Cider Route » and the Dupont Domain in my « Pays d’Auge » section HERE.
